


A Shopping Trip: Featuring Henry Cheng as Blue’s Fashion Adviser

by sunflowersmile



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, One Shot, Ronan Lynch & Blue Sargent Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:54:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24447676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflowersmile/pseuds/sunflowersmile
Summary: A shopping trip where Ronan buys Opal dogs treats, Gansey buys Blue earrings, Henry gives Blue shopping advice, Adam is forced to ride a train in the mall, and Blue actually accepts Gansey’s money.
Relationships: Richard Gansey III/Blue Sargent, Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	A Shopping Trip: Featuring Henry Cheng as Blue’s Fashion Adviser

“Hey, um, Blue?” Gansey stumbles over his words, twirling his fingers nervously.

“What?” Blue looks down at him from her knitting. It’s the first day back from spring break and she was already ignoring her homework. She’s sitting under a tree outside Monmouth and Gansey is fooling around under the Pig (again).

“Would it be okay—would you want to come with me to something?” Gansey is still stumbling over his words as he sits up.

“What is this something?” Blue asks warily. She sets her knitting down and gives him a look.

Gansey rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “It’s kind of a ball? My mom’s hosting a gala and she really wants me to come, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Blue stands up and moves to the Pig, sitting down next to him. “A gala, you say? Now, when is this gala?” Above them, there’s a thunk as a heavy object lands on top of the Pig. Gansey jumps up and glares at the raven sitting on his car. Blue just laughs, turning around.

“Hi, Ronan,” she says. There’s hurried whispers coming from behind a tree. Walking over, she gasps dramatically when she sees Ronan and Adam. The latter with the decency to look guilty. “What might you two idiots be doing?”  


“Listening to see if you’ll go to the ball with Gansey?” Adam says, cringing.

“No shit, Sherlock,” Ronan deadpans, walking over to pick up Chainsaw. Blue flips him off over her shoulder, not turning her head.

“Why?” Blue asks.

“‘Cause we wanted to see how you’d react when he told you that it’s tomorrow.”

“You weren’t supposed to say that!” Ronan yells, giggling maniacally. Blue turns on her heels and storms over to Gansey.

“You’re telling me that it’s tomorrow?! I was just about to say yes, for the fun of it, but now you’re saying that I have one day to sew an appropriate dress? I can sew fast, but not that fast.” She lets out an exasperated sigh.

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t know how to ask you. I can take you out today and we can go shopping, we can even take Ronan and Adam,” Gansey says, talking about their friends as if they’re pets.

“When was the last time I let you pay for me?” Blue asks, answering for him. “Never. And I’m not starting now.” Folding her arms across her chest she stomps over to the tree, plopping down.

“You should let him pay for it. And if you won’t let him pay for it, let me,” a new voice drifts over to the teenagers.

“Hi, Calla,” Ronan says cheerfully as he walks over to her car.

“You know, you really need to repaint your nails, they’re chipping,” Orla is saying to Ronan from the passenger seat as Blue jogs over, her face furrowed in anger.

“When the hell did you get here?”

“Just now,” Calla flashes Blue a smile. “Maura wanted us to stop and ask if you were going to be home for dinner. It’s supposed to be a quick stop, but now I’m invested.”

Blue rolls her eyes, “I’ll come home for dinner, because I am _not_ going shopping with Gansey.”

“Oh, come on. Let him take you!” Orla encourages. “We can give you money to spend if you don’t want to take pretty boy’s.” Blue looks extremely pissed off.

“Well now I feel I should take Gansey’s money because you and Calla and forever going to put me in you debt.”

“Then the issue is resolved,” Calla proclaims, speeding out of the driveway.

“But—” Blue huffs angrily, turning back to face her friends.

Adam shrugs. “It’s just one time, Blue. Besides, Gansey said you don’t have to go, so what’s the big deal?”

Blue ignores him and turns to Gansey. “Fine. I’ll come. But those two are coming with us as comic relief.” She starts to move, but then turns back. “And I am _not_ wearing anything pink.”

And so, the four of them pile into the Pig. It takes them three attempts to actually get out of the driveway. The first, due to a needed phone charger. The second, due to a loud squawking that came from the backseat. Ronan tried to give the others puppy eyes, but they all collectively said “No”, earning a whispered “Bitch” from Ronan. Chainsaw was put back inside, where there was air conditioning, so in the end she got the better deal. The third try was interrupted by Ronan shouting, “Shit! We forgot Opal!” In the end, Opal preferred to stay at home, so Matthew Lynch was called in as a babysitter. Their fourth try was successful, and they were off.

* * *

They arrive at the mall mid-afternoon, but they stand outside for a solid 10 minutes. None of them say anything, and two of them look intimidated. The third is pouting because he had to leave Chainsaw behind and the fourth is still fuming because she let these idiots bring her here.

“You know, none of us really know anything about fashion,” Adam starts, earning a glare from Blue. “I know you know how to sew, but does anybody even know where to start?”

“He’s right, but we could just ask someone,” Gansey says.

“That’s absolutely disgusting. Human interaction? How low have we sunk?” Ronan asks them. Everyone agrees with him (Gansey a little reluctantly), so they’re back to square one. After a couple more minutes of standing around, Gansey’s eyes light up.

“Oh, no, Edison’s got an idea,” Ronan mumbles to Adam, who has to cover his mouth to keep from laughing.

“We should call Henry!” Gansey opens up his phone and walks away, already making the call.

“That should not be _anybody’s_ immediate reaction to ‘we need someone to help us find a dress’,” Ronan says grouchily. There’s nothing the rest of them can do, so they sit on the sidewalk like lost ducks, waiting for Gansey.

“Good news! He’ll be here in 5 minutes! Plus, he said that he found an old book with new poems about Glendower! ” Gansey can barely contain his excitement. Blue leans over and kisses him.

“You’re such a dork,” she say, smiling.

“Well, this is awkward,” Adam says, looking at his worn converse.

“Not anymore!” Ronan laughs, kissing Adam hard on the mouth. Adam turns a bit pink and tries to hide the small smile that makes it onto his lips.

“Your savior is here!” Henry shouts, pulling up to the curb and hopping out.

“You know you have to park that yourself, right?” Blue asks. Henry hops right back into his car.

“Of course! I was just stretching my legs,” he says defensively, pulling away to park his car. Blue rolls her eyes and feels tempted to flip him off.

Henry successfully parks his car, and they set off into the store. Immediately, Ronan is distracted by the pet store.

“Look! There’s little chew toys! I’m sure Chainsaw would love one of those!” Ronan is grinning like a small child on Christmas morning, holding up different dog toys.

“Ronan, look!” Blue encourages, holding up a raven toy. The counter worker looks concerned, and Adam can’t tell which part he is concerned about.

“Do you think Opal would like these?” Ronan is pointing towards a container of vanilla Oreos.

“Ronan, you idiot, those are _dog treats,_ ” Adam says, exasperated. Ronan gives him a “ _so what?”_ look and goes to checkout. The worker is looking considerably more worried, but checks out Ronan’s toys and dog treats.

“Okay, Jane, we need to narrow down what your definition of _dress_ is. Also, Gansey, what are you planning to wear? We need to make this a matching ensemble!” Henry goes on about matching ties and suits and dresses and shoes, but only Gansey listens (which resulted in Blue being forced to listen).

“I was thinking that Blue could pick out her dress, and then we could figure out what tie I’m wearing, so she can have free pick of whatever color,” Gansey says, looking to Blue for clarification. Blue nods her head, looking disinterested. Henry leads them into an open area with two sections, one full of dresses, the other full of tuxedoes and suits. He pushes Blue into the dresses, ordering her to find _at least_ a dozen that she would enjoy. Gansey goes off with Adam to look at suits, while Ronan follows Blue. Henry goes off to a lounge area to wait for the rest of them.

“Do you really think she’s okay with coming to this with me?” Gansey is looking through racks, trying to find a suit that fits. He already has a whole closet at home, but his mother told him to “look extra nice”, which is her way of saying go buy a new suit.

Adam answers with another question, “Do you really think she would be here, asking Henry Cheng for fashion advice, if she didn’t want to go with you?”

“Fair point.”

After lots of searching on both ends, Gansey finds an acceptable suit, and Blue finds about five different dress options.

“Oh no, no, no. Those won’t do! Go looking again—Gansey, go with her to make sure they’re all appropriate for a gala. Jane, do you know what that word means? G-A-L-A. It’s—” Henry doesn’t get a chance to finish his thought because Blue is storming off into another section. Henry shoos them away after approving Gansey’s look.

“Remind me, why did we ask Henry for fashion advice?” Blue asks Ronan. “Ronan?” She turns around, not seeing him. _Oh well._ She shrugs. It’s not that much of a loss if we don’t find him. Then he won’t try to force-feed Opal dog treats. Then again, Blue could see Opal happily eating them.

“Hey,” Adam says quietly, walking up to Blue. He holds up a sequined blue dress. “Too much?”

“Just a little,” she says, grinning. “But I might pick something just as ridiculous to annoy Henry.” She pulls out another dress, adding to her growing pile. “I’m putting an end to this. I am not going to try on any more dresses than this.”

While Blue and Adam were discussing ways to annoy Henry, Gansey went looking for a piece of jewelry. He wanted to get something special for Blue, partly because she would have to accept it as a gift, and partly as an apology for having her go to the gala. After walking around for awhile, he notices Ronan following him.

“You don’t have to sneak around, I know you’re there,” Gansey says over his shoulder. Behind him, Ronan emerges, dressed in a fur coat.

“You don’t think that this is too much?” He strikes a pose.

“Oh my gosh! I definitely need a picture of that!” Surprisingly, Ronan lets him take a picture, but he then proceeds to steal Gansey’s phone. Sighing, Gansey continues looking through the counter. Aha! He spots a pair of gold earrings made out of lots of little stars that wrap up around the side of your ear. He chats easily with the cashier and grabs his gift, walking back towards Henry.

They enter in the middle of a fashion show. Blue is twirling in a forest green dress, while Henry shakes his head emphatically.

“No, no, no! That one will not do! Go try on that nice gold one,” Henry says, waving Blue back into the dressing room. Gansey sits down next to him on one of the couches, while Ronan goes and sits on Adam, squishing him in the chair.

“That’s…nice,” Gansey tries to say, but it doesn’t come out. Blue has come out in a shiny gold dress that has a deep neckline and slit up the side. Gansey’s face seems to be a representation of her internal reaction and she turn around immediately. She goes through dress after dress until she’s left with two. Blue tries on a light green one again, and comes out looking doubtful. It has butterflies resting on her shoulder and clings tightly to her body.

“Nice ass,” Ronan comments.

“Why’re you looking at her ass?” Adam asks, looking offended.

“I don’t know, but I’m not the one who should be looking,” Both turn to look at Gansey, whose cheeks are blushing. He doesn’t say anything.

“What? So your boyfriend is going to compliment my ass, but you aren’t?” Blue pretends to be thoroughly insulted. “I thought you cared about me?” she sniffs, wiping away fake tears, and Gansey puts his head in his arms, mumbling insults at them. Blue high-fives Ronan before she walks back into the dressing room.

“You haven’t tried that one on before,” Henry says, looking intrigued at the dress Blue is wearing. He twirls his finger and Blue obliges, spinning around.

“It was hiding,” Blue fingers the fabric. “I think I like it.” The dress goes down to her shins, and it fades from dark blue to light blue. There are layers of chiffon fabric, and the top layer of the skirt has specks of gold. The top is modest and it doesn’t have sleeves—perfect for spring evenings.

“You look like the night sky,” Gansey says, trying to hide his awe. “Here,” he pulls out the earrings. “These will look nice with your dress.”

Blue actually looks touched when she opens the box. “Thank you, you didn’t have to, but thanks!” Gansey looks at her doubtfully. “Damn, that sounded sarcastic, didn’t it? I really meant it, thank you.” Gansey starts laughing, because her words still sound sarcastic, but Henry changes the subject back to clothes. 

“Now all we have to do is find you shoes!” Henry says with excitement, clapping his hands.

“Shit,” Blue says to Gansey. “I forgot about the shoes.”

* * *

They wander in and out of many different shoe stores over the course of the next hour. Blue refuses practically every option Henry gives her, and he’s growing exasperated. They’ve found Gansey a tie, and that's the only thing they can say they’ve done successfully. Ronan and Adam are also getting restless, until they spot the train that goes all around the mall.

“We are riding that,” Ronan says, determined.

“We are not riding that,” Adam states at the exact same time.

“If we don’t ride that I will dream up a choo-choo train and ride it around Monmouth. Mine will be even better, because it will never stop blowing the whistle,” Ronan argues, and Adam knows he can’t fight this one.

“Fine. We’re riding that train,” he mumbles reluctantly. Thankfully (or not) the train stops near them, and the two run over to the train. The conductor looks very befuddled, like he can’t possibly imagine why two teenage boys would want to ride a train made for _children._ He gestures, talking to Adam, while Ronan inspects the entire train.

“He’s probably telling them that they’re too old,” Gansey says to Blue.

“Mentally they’re not,” Blue jokes, knowing she’s right. Gansey walks over to the conductor, and slips him a crisp stack of cash, turning on his Richard Gansey III persona. He somehow manages to charm him, and they’re successfully on the train. Ronan and Adam don’t even notice that Blue, Gansey, and Henry aren’t on the train—they’re walking in the opposite direction.

“Is it a bad idea to leave them alone?” Gansey says, actually concerned.

“Never,” Blue says sarcastically.

“They’ll be fine,” Henry says reassuringly, in a way that is not reassuring at all. He grabs each of their arms and drags them up the escalator and into another shoe store.

* * *

“Catch me!” Ronan shouts, jumping into Adam’s arms. He falls flat on the ground. “Asshole. You were supposed to catch me!” They’d finished their train ride, on which they were giggling the entire time. Afterwards, Adam had stood up to stretch, but Ronan had decided to throw himself into Adam’s arms, which failed miserably. The two look around, realizing that their friends are nowhere to be seen. They wander around, looking in almost every store, yet they still can’t find their friends—or even figure out where they are.

“Well, damn. I think we’re lost.” Ronan says, stating the obvious.

“No shit, Sherlock,” Adam responds. 

“Hey, that’s my line! But you know, we could ask for help.” Ronan isn’t one to want to talk to others, but he does want to give Opal the dogs treats and give Chainsaw her new toys. Adam doesn’t have this same motivation, and continues to refuse Ronan’s suggestions.

“No, it’s a mall, we can’t be _that_ lost.”

* * *

Up on the balcony, Gansey, Blue, and Henry look down at their friends, laughing. They’ve been going around in circles for almost an hour, and they haven’t even realized that there are multiple floors.

“They’re such idiots,” Gansey shakes his head.

“Yeah,” Blue agrees, “But they’re _our_ idiots.”

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo this kind of ended up being longer than I intended, but I really hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
